Lower Temperatures without losing light

Oro Farms, which belongs to the group of companies recently formed by the Dummen Group, is dedicated to the production of ornamental plant cuttings and foliage. The company grows more than 80 genera of plants and 1,100 different varieties including Poinsettias, Lantanas, Impatiens, Petunias, Calibrachoa, Dahlias. With such a wide spread variety of crops grown the operation faces varied climate challenges on a daily basis.

Oro farms elected to establish itself in Guatemala because of the countries competitive cost levels, location, and optimal climate. Nevertheless, controlling production in protected environments had to be taken into account. “We decided to install shading systems in order to have more active control inside the greenhouse. At first we installed a shade cloth with an aluminum coating, but it quickly lost its coating and became transparent; the mechanical resistance of the cloth was also very limited ̶ during windy seasons we commonly experience strong winds of up to 120 km/hr, so wind damages to the cloth were frequent”, commented Cadenas, Agricultural Engineer; “Black shades, which are the traditional solution in the area, are a cheap alternative but are not as effective as we lost a lot of light, and the greenhouses were still hot” concluded Moises.

“Subsequently, we installed a Svensson SOLARO 3815 O E WB solar reflection screen; with it we have attained better control of light, as well as being able to reduce the temperature by up to 4°C. When compared to the system we used before, our Solaro shade screen has brought us more benefits, not only are our greenhouses cooler, they receive additional light that’s of better quality. But most importantly our plants are now ready to be shipped between one and two weeks earlier, making us more competitive”, mentions Moises Cadenas; “We’ve had so much success with the white/black shade that we have now covered practically all of our operations with the SOLARO 3815 O E WB solar reflection screen.”

Grower Profile
Ing.Agr. Anibal MendozaChief of Operations

Moises CadenasOperational Assistant

Company: Oro Farms

Crop: Ornamental plants, flowers and foliage

Location: Guatemala

Greenhouse: Multi-tunnel, 80,000 m2, simple plastic on the covering, with a zenith window, anti-insect nets on the sides with Solarwoven installed as baseboard.

What climate was needed? A climate with less heat and better quality light.